Planned Giving to Empower Recovery

Pay taxes or make a choice. Cash gifts qualify most donors for a full charitable deduction when they itemize their federal income taxes, which gives them more of a say in how their dollars are spent.

Include the Michael J Dias Foundation in your will. Gifts can be designated as outright, residuary, contingency, or restricted bequests.

Charitable bequests are made through a will, a legal document that specifies how an individual’s property is to be distributed after death. A bequest made through either a will or a revocable trust can provide tax benefits to the donor and their heirs, as well as providing needed resources for the Michael J Dias Foundation.

Transferring shares of stocks, bonds, or mutual funds that have appreciated in value to the Michael J Dias Foundation is an excellent way to make a charitable gift. You benefit twice: you avoid capital gains tax and receive a charitable deduction for the security's current value. To learn more, see the attached form.

Gifting stock can often be more advantageous than donating cash. By using appreciated stocks, bonds, or mutual fund shares you have held long-term, you can donate to the Michael J Dias Foundation and potentially avoid the tax liability on the appreciated value of these securities. Click here to donate stock online through our complimentary tool, or contact us for more information.

The Michael J Dias Foundation can be named as the ultimate beneficiary of a Charitable Remainder Trust or the income beneficiary of a Charitable Lead Trust. Both are highly effective estate planning tools that offer significant benefits either now or in the future.

Charitable Remainder Trust: This type of trust allows you to place non-income-producing assets into the trust and receive income distributions from these assets. Additionally, you will receive a charitable donation tax deduction based on the present value of the remainder of the assets designated for the charity. At the end of the trust term or upon your passing, the remaining assets will be transferred to your chosen charity, the Michael J Dias Foundation.

The Michael J Dias Foundation can be named as the beneficiary of a new or existing life insurance policy. If the Foundation is also designated as the policy owner, all premium payments you make are considered charitable deductions.

You can also make a gift of life insurance by naming the Michael J Dias Foundation as the irrevocable owner and beneficiary of a policy that has cash value and is no longer needed. In many cases, donors may claim a charitable deduction for gifting a life insurance policy with cash value. It is recommended that you contact your tax advisor or a professional appraiser to determine the deduction amount.

Significant tax benefits can be gained by naming the MJD Foundation as residual beneficiary of retirement plan assets. This option allows a donor to defer a gift to the end of his or her lifetime, reduce the size of the estate, and meet charitable objectives.

Gifts of securities and real property may provide important tax advantages. Their full fair market value is deductible as a charitable contribution with certain limitations.

This gifting technique is an outright gift of cash, securities or other property to the MJD Foundation made during your lifetime in return for the organization’s promise to pay a lifetime annuity income to you.

A “PAGE” is a permanent fund dedicated to endowing your unrestricted annual community campaign gift to the MJD Foundation. A “PAGE” gift is not intended to take the place of any part of an annual gift—instead, it is a lasting legacy that will continue to make an unrestricted annual gift to the Foundation in perpetuity on your behalf. For more information, see our Planned Giving document.

Naming the MJD Foundation as a beneficiary of your retirement funds, such as an IRA, 401k, or 403b, is a simple and effective way to benefit the community while avoiding significant, often unanticipated tax penalties. Your retirement plan is tax-deferred only until death. The remainders of these assets are subject to multiple taxes if left to an individual other than your spouse. Donating retirement accounts can reduce or eliminate these taxes completely while allowing you to make a significant impact to those seeking our assistance.

Many donors today leverage Donor Advised Funds (DAFs) to optimize their tax benefits while supporting their favorite charities. These funds, established with large financial institutions or community foundations, allow donors to make charitable contributions, receive immediate tax deductions, and recommend grants over time to various nonprofits.

One compelling option for donors is to designate the remaining balance of their DAF to support the Michael J Dias Foundation upon their passing. This ensures that their legacy of giving continues to make a meaningful impact even after they are gone. By choosing this option, donors can sustain our mission and help individuals in recovery rebuild their lives.

Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) make it easier to use IRA assets during your lifetime to make charitable gifts to the Michael J Dias Foundation. QCDs allow individuals aged 70½ and older to make direct transfers of up to $105,000 per year (and up to $210,000 per year for married couples) from individual retirement accounts (IRAs) to qualified charities without counting the transfers as income for federal tax purposes. These are “tax-wise” gifts for donors who must take an annual required minimum distribution (RMD) from their IRAs. Since no tax is incurred on the withdrawal, the gifts do not qualify for an income tax charitable deduction but are eligible to be counted toward an individual’s RMD.

Provisions of a Qualified Charitable Distribution:

• Direct Transfers: Distributions must be made directly to a qualified charity by the plan administrator of an IRA. Retirement assets in 401(k), 403(b), SEP, or SIMPLE plans do not qualify but may be rolled into a new or existing IRA and transferred to the charity.

• Eligible Recipients: Distributions may only be made to 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations and cannot be made to donor-advised funds, private foundations, or supporting organizations.

• Restrictions on Use: Distributions may not be used to fund life-income gifts such as charitable gift annuities, charitable remainder trusts, or pooled income funds.

Using a QCD, you can support the Michael J Dias Foundation tax-efficiently, ensuring that your charitable intentions are fulfilled while also meeting your financial planning goals. For more information or assistance with making a QCD, please get in touch with your financial advisor or IRA plan administrator.

A beneficiary designation gift is an easy and impactful way to make a planned gift to support the Michael J Dias Foundation. You can designate us as the beneficiary of your retirement accounts, investment accounts, bank accounts, or current life insurance policies. The process is straightforward – most banks and financial institutions provide a form for you to complete to indicate your beneficiary or beneficiaries and their respective percentages.

Each financial institution has its form, so you must request this from your bank or financial institution. Once you have the form, you name the Michael J Dias Foundation as a beneficiary. To make this process even easier, we provide a preliminary form with specific instructions and our tax identification number, which you can include on your financial institution's official beneficiary designation form.

This simple step can ensure that your legacy continues to support those in recovery through the Michael J Dias Foundation. For more information or assistance, please contact us.